Accumulator - (see also: Parlay) A multiple bet. A kind of 'let-it-ride' bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more games with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following game selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the accumulator.

Across the board - A term generally used in horse racing when betting on a horse to win, place and show.

Action - A bet or wager.

Agent - Someone who places customers into a book for a commission.

Alpo - The underdog.

Back Door Cover - Occurs when a team that has no real chance of winning the game outright scores meaningless points to cover the spread.

Backed - A 'backed' team is one on which lots of bets have been placed.

Bad Beat - A game you thought you had won, and then lose.
Opposite of Back Door Cover.

Banker - Highly expected to win.
The strongest in a multiple selection in a parlay or accumulator.
Often interchangeable with 'accountant' or bookmaker.

Beef - A dispute with your bookie about the accuracy of a wager.

BM - Bookmaker.

Book - Online betting sports book.

Bookie - Short for bookmaker. The person or shop who accepts bets.

Bookmaker - Person who is licensed to accept bets on the result of an event based on their provision of odds to the customer.

Bow-Wow - Another term for underdog.

BR - Bankroll.

Buck - $100.

Chalk - The favored team or horse.

Chalkeater - A bettor who only bets on favorites.

Circled Game - A game where the maximum bet is limited.

Cover - To beat the spread by the required number of points, or a point spread win.

Degenerate - A compulsive gambler.

Dime bet - A $1000 wager.

Dividend - The agreed payout or return on any bet.

Dog - Underdog.

Dollar Bet - A $100 wager.

Draw - Where competitors in an event finish evenly. Where there is a draw and this is not offered as a betting option, the return will be divided by the number of joint winners. Note that some sports have processes such as extra-time or play-offs to determine an event winner that is included as part of the bet where others are not. This may affect some bets and you should always be sure how an event would be decided in this instance.

Drift - Moving point spreads are said to have drifted, or be 'On the Drift'.

Even Money - A 1:1 odds bet. A $1 stake would return $2 dividend ($1 win plus $1 staked).

Exotic - Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay.

Exposure - The maximum amount of money a sports book stands to lose on a game.

Favorite - The team or individual the sports books rate most likely to win that contest or event. Typically it has the most money bet on it.

Field - 1) All the individual competitors in an event. 2) Odds offered on non listed (outsiders) players or teams collectively called the Field.

Figure - The amount in your online betting account; or what you won or lost last week.

Fixed Odds - Your dividend is fixed at the odds when you placed your bet. No matter how much the odds fluctuate, the odds at the time you placed your bet are fixed and written on the ticket. Your dividend for winning is paid at the value stated on your ticket, no matter what happens after you have placed your bet.

Form - Generally refers to the tabloid containing data used in betting on race horses.

Futures - Bets placed in advance predicting the outcome of a future event.

Handicap - Spread.

Handicapper - A person who studies a number of factors such as weather, injuries, and statistics to predict the outcome of a game.

Handle - Total amount of money wagered.

Hang Cheng - The Asian equivalent for 'Point Spread'.

Hedge - To reduce the amount of action by wagering on the opposite side of an earlier wager.

Hook - The half point in point spreads. For example: 5. 5 is 5 and a hook.

In The Red - Odds on.

Juice - The bookmaker's commission, also known as vigorish or vig.

Laying a price - Playing a favorite.

Layoff - Money bet by a sports book with another bookmaker to reduce its exposure.

Lengthen - The opposite of 'Shorten'. Referred to odds getting longer, that is, more attractive to the bettor.

Limit - Maximum wager accepted on a given event.

Lines - Odds offered to the player.

Lock - (As in 'Banker') US term for an almost certain winner. Easy winner.

Long Odds - Generally greater than 10:1.

Margin - The amount a competitor/team in an event finishes in front of another competitor/team.

Matador - A cover that occurs in the waning moments of a contest. See also: Back door cover.

Middle - Betting both sides of a game at different lines with the hope of winning both wagers. Example: If a bettor played Dallas (-4) and New York (+6), and Dallas won 35-30, the bettor would win both bets, or "catch the middle".

Middler - A bettor that plays both sides of the line.

MLB - Major League Baseball.

Money Line - The amount that must be wagered to win $100, or the amount won for a $100 wager.

Mush - A bettor who is bad luck when they are around.

MVP - Most Valuable Player.

Nap - A newspaper correspondent's best bet of the day.

NBA - National Basketball Association.

NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Newbie - A person who is new to gambling, a rookie.

NFL - National Football League.

NHL - National Hockey League.

Nickel - A $500 wager.

Odds Compiler - Same as 'Oddsmaker' below.

Odds-on - An Odds-on bet has a Minus sign in front and is worked out in reverse. It is the amount you wager to win $100.

Online Oddsmaker - A person who sets the betting odds. (Sports books or Bookies don't set the odds. Most major sportsbooks use odds set by Las Vegas odds makers).

Off the board - A game on which bookmakers are not accepting wagers. Games generally "go off the board" due to injuries to key players.

Online Betting - A legal way to bet on sports that happens to be the safest, easiest, and best value for the sports gambler.

Outsiders - Those contestants that are not expected to win. The opposite of the favorite, usually offered at lengthy odds.

Overlay - A situation in which the odds on a game favor the bettor, rather than the book.

Over/Under - A bet on whether the total points or goals scored by the two teams will be over or under a specified number.

Parlay - (Also, Accumulator) A multiple bet. A kind of 'let-it-ride' bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more games with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following game selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the parlay.

Past Post - A bet made after the start of a horse race or game.

Picks - Betting selections, usually by an expert.

PK or Pick - Evenly matched teams.

Place - Finish in second place, generally used in horse racing.

Player - Bettor.

Point Spread - (Also, Handicap) The points allocated to the 'underdog' to level the odds with the 'favorite'.

Price - The odds, or line.

Puppy - Underdog.

Push - A game that is tied when the point spread is factored in.

Return - Your total winnings on a bet.

Round Robin - A single ticket which is composed of more than one parlay.

Rundown - The list of odds on a particular day's game.

Runner - Someone who places bets on behalf of someone else.

Scalper - A player that lays a low number and takes a higher number. Usually plays at no risk. Also, someone who sells tickets to sporting events at prices considerably higher than face value.

Scamdicapper - A bragger who gives outlandish promises about past winning percentages and artificially inflates your expectations.

Score - A big win.

Sharp - Sophisticated or skilled in wagering.

Shorten - The opposite of 'Lengthen'. Referred to odds getting shorter, that is, less attractive to the bettor.

Single - A bet on a single game or event also known as a straight-up bet.

Sportsbook - The person, casino or website who accepts bets.

Spread - Point Spread.

Square - Someone new to betting; novice or rookie.

Stanley Cup - Trophy awarded to NHL Champion.

Steam - When a betting line starts to move quite rapidly, usually caused by many bettors betting on it.

Straight Bet - A single wager, as opposed to a parlay.

Sucker Bet - Parlays, teasers, or exotics. (Basically, any bets bookmakers offer to entice squares to bet more money.)

Super Bowl - NFL Championship game.

Taking a price - Betting on the underdog.

Tapped out - Broke from gambling.

Teaser - A bet on two or more teams where the bettor can add or subtract points from the spread to make their bets stronger. All results must match the selections to win the teaser.

Tie - A push, or draw.

Tips - (see also: Picks) The selections and predictions of each competitors' performance for an event from an expert or observer.

Total - The combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams.

Two and Three Balls Betting - A golfing bet that involves predicting which player from either a group of two or three will shoot the lowest score over 18 holes.

Underlay - A situation in which the odds on a game favor the book, rather than the bettor.

Uniforms - Referees.

Value - An overlay.

Vigorish or Vig. - The commission paid to the bookmaker.

Wager - A bet.

Win Only - Betting on a competitor to win an event, also known as 'Straight Out' or 'Money Line' betting.

Wise Guy - A knowledgeable handicapper or bettor.

World Series - Championship of Major League Baseball.

Zebras - Referees.